Earlier this week, one of my good friends called me. I have been driving around with a huge bag of rice in my car all darn week so that I can give it to this guy, so that he can give it to Haiti (as part of his relief efforts). Hence, when he called, I figured he must be calling to schedule a meetup to get the rice. "Want to volunteer with me this Saturday? We need attorneys."
"Where would we be volunteering?"
"I'm not sure."
"What time?"
"I'll need to get those details."
"What will we be doing?"
"I don't know exactly. Something about felons voting."
"What?! Ok, well call me back when you know more and I'll see you on Saturday." I have a small collection of friends that if they ever needed me, I would drop almost anything to help them if I could. He happens to be one of them. For a period of time in law school, there were four of us who were completely inseparable and this still bleeds into our daily lives today. Granted, most of us now live at least three hours apart, but we are still there for each other as much as we can be. So, when one of these friends asked me if I would help him by volunteering some of my time, there really was only one possible answer.
Turns out I will be working with the ACLU this weekend to help convicted felons register to vote - seeing if their records can be suppressed or expunged and, as a result, become qualified to vote under the laws of the state of Florida. In some ways, it makes me a little nervous to be volunteering with convicted felons. However, at least with such situations, you know who to watch out for. In other areas of the law, you are never quite sure. I know one woman who spent years practicing real estate law in Florida, with an emphasis in home owners association regulation. She said she eventually started doing criminal defense because it felt much safer and she did not have to worry about as many stray bullets.
"Where would we be volunteering?"
"I'm not sure."
"What time?"
"I'll need to get those details."
"What will we be doing?"
"I don't know exactly. Something about felons voting."
"What?! Ok, well call me back when you know more and I'll see you on Saturday." I have a small collection of friends that if they ever needed me, I would drop almost anything to help them if I could. He happens to be one of them. For a period of time in law school, there were four of us who were completely inseparable and this still bleeds into our daily lives today. Granted, most of us now live at least three hours apart, but we are still there for each other as much as we can be. So, when one of these friends asked me if I would help him by volunteering some of my time, there really was only one possible answer.
Turns out I will be working with the ACLU this weekend to help convicted felons register to vote - seeing if their records can be suppressed or expunged and, as a result, become qualified to vote under the laws of the state of Florida. In some ways, it makes me a little nervous to be volunteering with convicted felons. However, at least with such situations, you know who to watch out for. In other areas of the law, you are never quite sure. I know one woman who spent years practicing real estate law in Florida, with an emphasis in home owners association regulation. She said she eventually started doing criminal defense because it felt much safer and she did not have to worry about as many stray bullets.
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